Abstract:
Following the 1949 death of US Senator J. Melville Broughton of North Carolina, a special election was convened to name his successor for the remainder of his term. The election was a three-way race between Dr. Frank Porter Graham, Robert R. Reynolds, and Willis Smith. Graham was predicted to win in a landslide but Reynolds, half-hearted campaign was able to secure enough votes to force a runoff between Graham and Smith. Smith was able to upset Graham in the runoff and obtained a US Senate seat in the process.